


AT LAST

by heatherpeters



Category: The Blacklist
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:35:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9411581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatherpeters/pseuds/heatherpeters
Summary: An AU story told after Episode 4X11 "The Harem."   Elizabeth meets with Red, where he presents her with the Witness Protection list. Seems he needed the list to save a life, not take one. It will give Liz many reasons to think over all she and Red have been through





	1. PART ONE - FORGIVENESS

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cress 26](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Cress+26).



> I do not own The Blacklist or any of its characters.
> 
> I thank Cress 26, my beta and dear friend, for her brainstorming prowess on this story.
> 
> I dedicate this story, with love to my dear friend Lou Lou McLellan ~ I miss you Lou, and will meet you someday on the other side. Hugs and Kisses.

“Dembe told me what happened with Mr. Kaplan.”

Red looked up at Elizabeth, fully expecting, and deserving, the full extent of her rage. He didn’t blame Dembe, not at all. He knew his dear friend was merely conveying to Elizabeth the extent of the loss of a woman who’d been like a sister to both.

“Elizabeth, I – “

“Please let me finish, Red.”

She wasn’t angry; no malice or disgust filled her voice. Red’s eyes met her own and in her blue depths he saw – compassion….understanding, and dare he wish for – forgiveness?

He nodded slightly as she continued. “I cannot condemn you for what you did because I am the reason for it. I’m sincerely sorry you had to do it, but, for what it’s worth, I feel partially responsible. And I know it may be late and I’ve let too much time pass, but I want to say, from the bottom of my heart -- I’m sorry.”

He swallowed hard as her words dug deep to his soul, her voice steady and strong, filled with determined conviction. He’d only wanted to protect her with his life, his love, his heart. 

“When I left you in that van, your breath taken away forever, I – I wished – “  
And then her hand slid across the table to cover his own. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as he turned his hand so that they could entwine with hers. Her warmth now filled him – with hope.

“I was thinking of my child at the time. I was so frightened, Red, I didn’t know if my baby would die.” She squeezed his hand. “If I would die. So when Mr. Kaplan presented a way out, to pretend to die, I accepted her plan. It was a way out. And for that, I will be forever sorry. I know I’ve acted abominably toward you, and I hope that you can forgive me someday.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Elizabeth. You are alive, Agnes is healthy and happy. That’s all I am concerned about.”

“Red, I know.”

His brows furrowed. “Know what?”

She quickly swiped a tear that escaped, sniffed back another, and lifted her chin. “I know what you went through afterward.” 

Red watched her cheeks flush, her voice deepen, then grow hoarse, her eyes blink to hold back more tears. “My God, just the thought of losing you because of my actions….”

Red then rose, and moved to sit next to her, just in time to watch her emotions overflow.

She began to sob, and without thinking, he gathered her in his arms, and tenderly tucked her against his chest.

“Shhh, sweetheart, please don’t cry. It’s over now. I’m fine and you’re alive. Please, Eliz – please Lizzie. I can’t bear it.”

“Oh Red, Red, how can I make it up to you? What if you had died because of my selfish plan to save myself? I could never live with myself if I lost you – you, who I owe everything to, especially saving Agnes.”

He caressed her cheek and lifted her chin, swiped away her warm tears with a thumb. Looking straight into those stormy blue eyes, he swallowed hard to prevent his own tears from flowing freely.

“Yes, I was distraught at the thought of losing you. Yes, I was so bereft that no matter what I did, I couldn’t allow myself to excuse Kate from what she’d done. And Yes, when I discovered you were alive, I was angry and joyous at the same time. Death is a part of my life, Lizzie, but I never want you to die before me. If it happened again, I couldn’t bear it. I did it once, I could not survive a second time.”

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and they sat, alone for a long time. Dembe had stepped away, just far enough to give them privacy, but close enough to protect them both.

“You went to such extremes because of me, Lizzie. Because I am in your life. I never thought it would come to this. Never imagined that you’d have to resort to feigning your own demise in order to run from me. And so I’ve made a decision, and I can only hope you’ll understand.”

Liz pulled from him and frowned. She shook her head, not quite knowing what he was trying to say. But it couldn’t be good. “Tell me, Red.”

He looked deep into her eyes, and tightened his hold on her hand, needing the connection and her warmth to help him say what he needed to convey.

“I’m going to step away, Lizzie. I’ve decided that the only way to keep you safe is to get on a plane and leave you to live the life you were meant to live.”

As she was about to speak, his head tilted and he managed a tiny smile. “You will continue to have my people keep you safe, never fear. You will always be protected from afar, but nevertheless, close enough. The time has come for you to live. Now that Tom is gone, you and Agnes can make a true home for yourselves. I’ve purchased a house for you closeby, complete with three bedrooms in a lovely residential neighborhood not far from the post office. I’ve also arranged for you to retain a full-time nanny, should you desire, to watch Agnes when you leave for work. It’s the least I can do for all I’ve cost you these four years. But if you need me, I will be here for you, always.”

Liz opened her mouth, yet nothing came out. She shook her head and touched his face, then inhaled deeply when he turned his head and kissed her palm. “No, no, you can’t do this. I need you. We need you, Red. Agnes and I, we need you in our life.”

“Oh Lizzie, I think we’ve brought each other enough pain. Enough that both of us nearly lost our lives. I want, most of all, for you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. And with me gone, you can now have that. Please don’t make it harder than it must be. I’m leaving in the morning.”

His hand slid under her hair, and he kissed her gently on the forehead, while her heart shattered into confetti-like pieces. 

“I did this, it’s all my fault. Now its driving you away and I can’t stop you. This is not what I wanted, Red.”

He moved away from her and stood, adjusting his coat and grabbing his hat from the table. 

Knowing he’d have to remove himself from her life now, before he crumbled and changed his mind.

“This is for the best, Lizzie. Dembe will keep in touch with you, but it’s time we let each other go.” 

He looked down at her, wanting to gaze upon that beloved face once more, to imprint her eyes upon his heart, to memorize all that was Elizabeth, deep in his soul.

“Thank you for forgiving me, Elizabeth,” he coughed and cleared his throat, choking his tears away. “Goodbye.”

“Raymond!”

His body stilled at the mention of his name on her lips. He turned and tilted his head, his hands trembling, his heart racing at the possibility of what she was going to say.

“I meant it when I said, I do love – you.”

He blinked and nodded, his mouth pursed as they merely stared at each other for long seconds. “I know, Lizzie. I know.”

She covered her face in her hands, and proceeded to sob openly as Red almost, almost ignored his own vow to leave. But he couldn’t continue to place her life in peril. 

So with a heavy heart, feeling tired and weary, he slowly lifted his hat to his head, secured it, and left her sitting alone, while his heart cracked a little more with every step he took toward the exit and finally, out the door.

Out of her life.

TBC


	2. PART TWO - AT LAST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liz has her own plan in play as she decides Red is worth fighting for.

Liz lifted her head to find him gone.

“Oh Red, why? Not now, not before I could tell you that – “

Looking down at the table, she spied two items that weren’t there before: a key, and a card.

Recognizing Dembe’s handwriting, the equivalent of a neat, straight print, was an address and three words: ‘the safe house.’ 

Knowing that’s where Red and Dembe must be staying, she smiled through her tears, picked up the key and card and shoved both in her jacket pocket.

She couldn’t let Red leave her like this; not after all they’d been through, lived through. They’d worked together, nearly died together many times, found Blacklisters and put them away.

He’d helped her run away, had a hand in freeing her, then, remarkably, he’d obtained a presidential pardon for her. She was still trying to figure out how he’d managed that. But Liz had learned in the past four years, there was nothing that was impossible for Raymond Reddington.

The man she loved. The father of her child.

No, he wasn’t going to just up and leave her and Agnes, not a chance, not while she still had breath inside her. Not while she still had hope of a life together for the three of them.

And not before he knew the truth about Agnes.

All the truth she’d ever need had been in that shipping container that fateful night while they were on the run.

Gazing at the stars, hearing him tell her that she was his way home.

“You’re not getting away from me that easily, Reddington. Not from me, not from your daughter.”

She took the key from her pocket and kissed it, allowing herself a small giggle as she walked from the café.

“I’ll be damned if we’re not going to walk in the park with our daughter between us,” she thought as she returned to the apartment she’d recently acquired. She was going to him, but first, needed to ask the babysitter if she could take Agnes overnight.

Liz had a plan, and this time, she would get the last word, and Red would have no choice, but to listen.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There was a storm on the horizon.

Exhausted and tired from packing, not to mention the manner in which he left Elizabeth, Red took an ice-cold shower. He wished only to feel nothing, numb. His mind told him he was doing the right thing, but his heart?

His heart was slowly, maddeningly fighting to continue beating.

Lizzie.

He made a vow to leave her and he wouldn’t break it.

He loved her too much to stay.

He detested himself enough to go.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Emerging from the shower, he dried off, brushed his teeth, then walked naked into his bedroom.

He noticed that Dembe had started a fire for him in the massive stone hearth. Already the rising orange and yellow crackling flames snapped against the bricks while warmth radiated throughout the room.

Outside the ceiling to floor windows, he noticed intermittent lightning spreading across a steel gray night sky, followed by the rolling rumble of distant thunder. 

Tonight, he just needed to grieve silently in an attempt to come to terms with his decision.

He climbed into the king-sized bed, settled himself under the cashmere blankets, and was left alone with his thoughts, surrounded only by the sounds of an impending tempest outside, in combination with the crackling snap of fire inside.

Since falling in love with Elizabeth all those months ago, he’d realized he had so much to lose, as did she. The opium den and the subsequent trip to Cape May proved he could not survive the loss of Elizabeth – again.

Staring into the flames, his mind re-lived precious moments, destined to remain treasured memories of their time together.

How would he live without her? Without her smile, her softness, those stunning sapphire blue eyes that flashed fire at times, and icy cold at others.

There was no debate now. Stepping out of her life was best for her; for her protection, for Agnes’ safety. He would live with the pain of losing her. He deserved nothing less.

Closing his eyes, he urged his body to relax and sleep at least for a few hours before he and Dembe departed for parts unknown.

He’d love her always; but his decision stood. Life without him would keep her safe.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Thunder shook the ground as Liz entered the dark house. Rain threatened outside as evidenced by the lightning that illuminated the pitch black inside.

Dembe heard her, nodded and took her jacket, hanging it up in the closet by the front door. Smiling at her, he gestured up the winding stairs.

She gave him a quick hug and smiled. “Thank you.”

“He needs you.” Was all he said. “He always will.”

And with that, he disappeared, leaving Liz alone.

Approaching the stairway, she slowly made her way up and easily found his room.

The heavy door was cracked open, where the acrid scent of burning wood assaulted her nostrils. The drapes were open, allowing the periodic flash of lightning to pierce the room.

Slowly, she opened the door where the rising flames silhouetted Red’s form, under the blankets, eyes closed, hands folded on his chest.

But he wasn’t sleeping. His chest rose and fell in troubled rest. Tears filled her eyes once more as she grew more determined than ever to keep him in her life, to never let him go. No matter what he said or did now, they needed each other in order to fulfill each other’s fantasy. She loved him more than she’d ever loved any man. And it had taken her this long and hearing his words to make her realize that there would never be anyone else for her.

Making her way to the bed, she didn’t want to startle him, so slowly and deliberately, she began to undress. She had no doubt he was naked under the blankets, and all she wanted, needed and craved from this moment on, was his warmth, his touch, his body…..his love.

The only noises in the room were the crackling flames of the fire, and she was grateful for the thunder outside. It aided her in what she had to do.

She had to prove to him that they were better together than apart.

When she was naked, she proceeded to climb onto the bed and simply took in that beloved face. She knew every feature: his masculine jaw, beautiful lips, and yes, those incredible long lashes. She loved him so much, she ached inside. 

The moment her knee dipped the mattress however, his eyes flew open and he shot up.

“Lizzie!”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He’d dozed off, and in that light slumber, the scent of her perfume surrounded him, and he imagined she was with him.

But when he felt the slight shift in the mattress, he knew this was no dream.

She was here. Climbing into bed with him.

“Lizzie, what are you doing here?”

She knelt on the bed beside him, naked, feeling her nipples harden as his gaze traveled to her bare flesh.

“Shhh.” She placed a shaking finger to the warmth of his lips. “Don’t say anything, please, Red. Just allow me to show you how much I love you. Let me love you the way you deserve to be loved. I won’t let you go without a fight, and I intend to battle to make you stay with us, Agnes and I.”

He shook his head and pursed his lips, his brows furrowed in indecision. But he didn’t stop her, was unable to speak, much less chase her from his bed.

If he had a single weakness, it was this woman. Soft and hard, volatile, stubborn and unpredictable, stronger than she knew.

But he’d known. From the moment he’d seen her coming toward him that first day at the post office, he knew she was the only woman for him.

And now she was here, with him, fighting for their life together, fighting for their love.

He watched as she lifted the soft blanket, and slowly, oh so slowly, she moved close to him.

“Let me love you.”

She didn’t wait for an answer, just moved toward him until their eyes met and held, then she felt herself melt, softly bringing her mouth down on his.

Their lips touched and lingered, a soft, slow yet heated kiss that stretched into long moments. She angled her head to gain better access to his delectable mouth, and could have kissed him all night, here, in his bed, naked and hot, just wanting to give him all she had to give.

The kiss ended and they were inches apart. “Tell me you love me, Red. Tell me you’ll never leave me, that we’re going to be together. Tell me now.”

In answer, Red tunneled his fingers through her hair, kissed her again, his tongue now teasing her bottom lip, then easing its way inside her mouth.

Kissing Red was like standing in the middle of a forest fire, with no hope for survival. Liz welcomed a kiss that would rival the fire that sizzled and popped in the fireplace.

His touch, his mouth, his tongue, sent frissons of desire down her body and settled deep in her center. Her clit throbbed with want, and that was just from his kiss.

But she still needed him say the words.

When they drew apart, she didn’t have to wait long.

His eyes searched hers, and through those blue/green depths, she saw tears form. “Sweetheart, you have to know that I’m deeply in love with you. My decision was based solely for your protection. You have to know that. Lizzie, if I stay, our lives will always be subject to peril. Think of Agnes.”

“I am thinking of her. But I refuse to raise her without you. Say you’ll stay, Red. I love you too much to let you go. So please just stay and make love to me, make a commitment to me. I need that, and I think you do too.”

As the lightning brightened the sky and the rain began to fall in torrents, Red quickly changed their positions, and she soon found herself beneath his weight, one strong leg spreading her thighs wide. “You think that I could leave you now, with you like this, naked, warm, in my bed? Knowing how much you love me? I couldn’t let you go now if I was being dragged to Hell.” 

Tears brimmed and fell to her cheeks, as she listened to his words of devotion. 

“Put your legs around me, and hold on. I’m dying to be inside you and I fear I can’t hold on much longer.”

Lizzie too, didn’t want to wait a second longer to feel him become a part of her. She cried out as he pushed his way inside her slick channel, burning up for him as his length pierced her.

He let out a long, low groan when her legs lifted and wrapped around his back. She caressed his scars, then kissed him again as his erection grew harder inside her. She lifted her hips to take him deeper, his hands sliding down to her rear, lifting her even higher against his quickening thrusts.

As he moved deeper still, he couldn’t take his eyes from her. Her eyes, filled with tears, her lips, lush and full, those cute dimples on that beautiful face.

Her body was made for him, her heart belonged to him now.

He drove into her body once more, into her tight welcoming moisture, his strokes growing more urgent. Red was tangled up in her body, her heart, her soul.

He wanted her on so many levels, if he lived to be a hundred, he’d never be able to express all the ways he wanted her.

Driving, pushing inside her, he could feel her body squeezing him tight, starting to throb, and he knew she was close.

“Oh Red, please, now…Oh God I need……”

He kissed her hard as he reached the top of the precipice. Breathless, he grabbed her hips and tightening his hold on them, he urged her to reach the top with him.

“I have you, Lizzie…I’ll never let go……Go over for me...I – I love – love you….”

“Raymond!”

His heart rocked inside his chest as she cried out in the night, her groans of pleasure rivaling the rumbling of thunder outside their window.

Red followed close behind, as he came powerfully, with every molecule of his being, delivering a pleasure so deep, it nearly swallowed them both.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Red moved to her side, tucking her close within his arms, kissing her temple, and struggling to catch his breath.

After several silent moments, Liz leaned over him, slid her thumb over his bottom lip, then kissed him there. “I know we never said anything on the boat, in that shipping container, but I knew that night, that you loved me, Red. When we looked up at the stars, and you told me I was your way home.”

“You still are, Lizzie,” his voice gravelly and hoarse with emotion as he grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers. 

“Then why would you leave me, Red? Leave Agnes?”

Her brow raised at the mention of her daughter. “Could you really leave her, knowing, knowing……”

“Knowing that she’s mine?”

Liz nodded, then smiled, letting out a breath of relief that he’d finally said the words. “Yes, she’s yours. You always knew, didn’t you?”

He entwined his fingers with hers, and nodded. “I guess I always knew, but at the same time, knew if I stayed present in both your lives, I could essentially be putting you both at risk. You know I was never afraid to die, Lizzie. My life hinged on when and where, but I was always ready – until the night on the boat. After that, and then, with your pregnancy, I wasn’t quite ready to admit it to myself. The moment I held her in my arms, I knew she was mine. And it would have been the hardest thing I’d ever done, to leave you both. But I’d do it, Lizzie, if you had let me go, I would have taken my plane, and flown to parts unknown.”

He tucked errant strands of hair behind her ears, wanting to see her face through the partial darkness of the room.

“What made me think I could do it?”

Liz looked at him, rubbing a thumb across his cheek. “Because you are selfless; there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for me, and I shall be eternally grateful for your love.”

“I’ll stay Lizzie. I’ll stay.”

“Yes, love, we need you. We love you.”

He stared at her, never blinking. Then slowly, he turned her to her back, and began kissing her, starting at her forehead, to her eyes and nose, her warm cheeks and finally, her slightly swollen lips.

“I want to marry you, Lizzie, and claim Agnes as my own. I promise I’ll find a way for us to live as normal a life as we can. I swear this to you – you’ll never be without protection, and I promise to keep you and our daughter safe, as long as I have breath in my body.”

His body covered hers, and he slowly continued to kiss every inch of her. Her chin and along her ears, down her neck to her throat. The faint scent of her perfume driving him further. 

Liz became aroused once more. His mouth performed magic over every fiber of her flesh. When he reached her breast, he suckled one hard nub, then the other, nipping and teasing till she moaned with pleasure.

“Tell me you love me, Lizzie. I love to hear you say the words, cry out my name.”

He teased and palmed her round breasts, licked and took little bites, making her laugh and moan and hold his head in place while he feasted on her swollen globes.

“I love you Raymond, love you, love you…….”

Her words spurned him on, planting tiny kisses as he slid his head from her breasts to her flat stomach, to her navel and lower.

“I need to taste you, sweetheart. Open wide for me, and let me love you.”

She no sooner spread her thighs then he pierced her swollen lips with his tongue, delving and suckling until she squirmed and cried out. She tasted like woman and sex and desire, and he couldn’t get enough of her.

When she tensed, he knew she was about to orgasm, so he drank her essence, using his tongue to both bring her pleasure and watch her climax. She was an amazing, responsive creature.

“Red I need -- I need…..”

“I know Lizzie….I know.”

And with one swift movement, he rose himself up and gripped himself, placing his length inside her, easily sliding inside her wet heat.

At that moment Lizzie reversed their positions as she lay atop him.

He was deep inside her, and she smiled down at him, as he gripped her hips. “Ride me Lizzie. Ride me to Heaven and back.”

She obliged him by lifting her body up and down, in and out, driving Red wild with pleasure and arousal. It only took several strokes before they both cried out, discovering joy and happiness in each other’s pleasure.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The fire had long died down, and the sun shone through the window as they both came awake slowly, entangled in each other’s arms.

The bed clothes were on the floor, and they were entangled as one, in the center of the huge bed.

“Mmmm, you feel so warm. Can we stay here all day, just like this?”

A low grumbled laugh rose up from him, and she loved the sound.

“We can do whatever you like, Lizzie. After last night, I’ve come to the conclusion that when you desire something, through hell or high water, you will acquire it, one way or another.”

She followed him in laughter. “The sooner you realize that, Reddington, the happier the both of us will be.”

He moved on top of her and playfully tickled her until she surrendered. “I’m yours, Lizzie, come hell or high water, I surrender to you, body, heart and soul. What do you say to that?”

She wrapped her arms around him, happier than she’d ever been to hear him say those words to her.

She could finally see their future clearly. She could envision the two of them walking in the park with Agnes between them….Yes, it would all come true, now.

“I say…. ‘at last.’”

THE END  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“..... At last my love has come along  
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah  
At last the skies above are blue  
My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you  
I found a dream that I could speak to  
A dream that I can call my own  
I found a thrill to press my cheek to  
A thrill I've never known, oh yeah  
You smiled, you smiled oh and then the spell was cast  
And here we are in Heaven  
For you are mine at last…..”

Songwriters: HARRY WARREN, MACK GORDON

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who take precious time out of your day to read my stories; It means more to me than you'll ever know. As long as you all want to read Lizzington love stories, I'll keep writing them, no matter what direction the show takes.
> 
> Again, this story is lovingly dedicate to my friend, the late, great Lou Lou McLellan ~ A courageous woman who fought the good fight ~ We all miss you Lou Lou and promise to always think of you each time we watch Mr. Spader work his magic.


End file.
